if athiests won't have a funeral what's going to happen to their bodies?

Question

wont their families want to visit a gravesite?

Are they all going to be cremated?

It sounds selfish to me. why not let your family be happy?

Answer 1

We do have funerals if a person wishes to be buried.

And if a person doesn't, well I guess the usual other option is cremation...and how would that as a person's choice be selfish?

Answer 2

Well, my hubby, son & I all agree that cremation is the way to go. I would say that over half of my extended family is either deceased, or would have no interest in visiting my grave. So there are no family members for me to placate by being buried in an expensive box so they can "visit" me.

That being said, I would NEVER guilt anyone into having the type of funeral I think they should have. I am an agnostic, but I would NEVER tell a religious family member that it would be SELFISH for them to have a religious funeral service, because I wouldn't want to atttend.

Sheeesh, I think YOUR attitude sounds selfish, dictating to others how they should be disposed of after death.

Usually, when people die, the family is not "happy". Having a grave site to visit, or an urn of ashes on the mantel isn't going to make someone happy.

Answer 3

Why would an atheist avoid funerals? Why is cremation considered selfish?

So many assumptions here. I'm not against funerals, but they are for the living. I would want my family to be happy, but I would hope that my actions in life would make them feel better than a ceremony that takes place after death. Still, they are free to do what they like. As long as they don't tack on theological issues, such as "She was an atheist and may burn for eternity." I would want a funeral to remember my life, not someone else's hangups.

Answer 4

My extended family, even the believers, favor cremation. Spreading someones ashes over the ocean is a beautiful ceremony.
Why would you think just because you like traditional burials everyone feels the same way you do? Why would you think all atheists would have a preference for one thing vs another? Don't you know atheists are individuals with individual preferences?

Your question is really kind of inane.

Answer 5

LOL selfish?
Selfish is wasting a 3x2x6 piece of dirt to plant a dead body. When you look at the world on a grand scale it is very selfish.
Why do people visit gravesites anyway...what do people actually get out of that?
My family is perfectly fine with my decisions after death. From my hubby to my kids.
All I can say is better come see me when Im kickin'...when Im dead it's too late anyway.

Answer 6

who would want to visit a gravesite? Not me. And whats wrong with being cremated? Nothing. How can they be selfish if they are dead. You don't need to go to a gravesite to remember someone who passed.

Answer 7

I think you mean a burial, not a funeral. But it really doesn't matter. Some atheists are buried in a graveyard with tombstones and everything. Some are cremated. Atheism doesn't include funeral requirements.

Answer 8

It goes into decomposers like bacteria in our body. Why do you think dead things bloat? The decomposition process releases gas which gets trapped by the body. Trust me, none of the energy is destroyed, plus, wouldn't the existence of an afterlife violate the first law of thermodynamics, since the energy that could have been used to feed the bacteria would be gone once your soul was transported wherever?

Answer 9

To me, another atheist, a funeral is a celebration of life and death. I would prefer that i be cremated even if it pollutes the air (heh heh heh), or buried somewhere in the forest so i can decay and let nature have my nutrients back, but its so i can be free and at peace with the world, or be reincarnated in a tree where i can live for maybe another 100-1000 years--great because i can be a philosopher undisturbed by the troubles of humans. If you believe in spirits, and since my ashes are scatted or my corpse reused by nature, i wouldnt come back to haunt anyone.

Sure our families want to visit our grave sites, but since im chinese, and its sorta traditional to be cremated and be placed in a jar, my family can visit my grave at home.

It depends. Being buried in a coffin and put underground scares me even when im dead. I feel like being trapped, my screams cant be heard, eternal torture, my body is left to rot in a closed space. Being in a coffin would scare me enough beyond the grave to revive me from the dead.

What does it matter to us if our families are happy if we are dead, free from human suffering. But i can understand someone who would want to pay their respects to the dead by visiting their grave. They do it as sort of a favor for them. They think that if they dont visit, the dead wouldnt be at rest, so it does justice if they visit the grave site at least once.

If visiting the grave site is impossible, they dont have to fret. If you ashes are scatter by the wind, your family can visit you where ever you are. They jsut have to go outdoors. I always thought families wanted their dead to be happy so it would bring good fortune. Maybe its just a chinese bias.

Answer 10

I don't like funerals them why I want that my family and friends go to my funeral? I believe that people deserves the things in life not in dead.
We are dust in the wind, yes I believe in cremation.

Answer 11

1. Atheists have funerals, you're just making things up.
2. You don't know every atheist's family. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that families exist who would not wish to visit grave sites.
3. No, they're not all going to be cremated. Many are, but it's up to each individual.
4. You're telling people you don't even know that they're making their families unhappy? Seriously what was your thought process here?